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   The King's College Alumni E-Newsletter     

April 2007   

In this issue meet the recipient of the Hicks Memorial Scholarship, read about a recent event at TKC, and hear about alumna Sue Cutler ’66.

McCullough is a political conservative whose radio talk show airs on WMCA every weekday. He is also well known and respected in political, entertainment, and pro-family leadership circles across the United States. Baldwin is an actor and author who has written a book about his experiences in Hollywood.

After I visited Sue Cutler's class for the first time, I was ready to move heaven and earth to get my son a desk in that room. Think that's hyperbole? I commute two hours on three New Jersey highways every workday, driving my kid back and forth to Mrs. Cutler's first grade class at Trinity Christian School in Montville, New Jersey.

A 1966 King's College graduate with a degree in Christian Education and a Master's from Adelphi University in Elementary Education, Cutler is a first grade veteran, teaching the primary level for 28 years. But, she rejects the simplification that her career has been spent teaching the same things over and over again. Without a moment's thought, she clarifies, "You're teaching the children; you're not teaching the subject."

What's it like to be in Cutler's class? Calm. In a word, Cutler's classroom is calm. There is enthusiasm and the normal amount of wriggling and quirkiness, but serenity seems to undergird it all. Six and seven year olds stand in front of their desks to recite the day's grammar lessons. They define nouns, pronouns, sentences, and prepositions in a chant, doing sign language motions as they go along. Cutler sits at the front, a regal presence. She leads the chants, then moves to display simple black and white sentences via an overhead projector.

What makes the class run so smoothly? It takes time, Cutler says. It doesn’t happen in the first three or four weeks. Clear expectations are also key. Cutler said, "Tell them exactly what you expect of them," and when you don't get it, tell them again, "very sweetly," she added.

"I like a lot going on in the classroom," Cutler said. In first grade, she pointed out, you are teaching kids with a one-year age gap, and ability gaps of two years or more. So, she makes sure that there are other things to do when assignments are finished. She recalls the class of students who inspired her to begin her "folder work." She told the class at the beginning of the year that there was no way they could finish all the work she had for them. Two students took the dare as a personal challenge. One girl in particular, Cutler said, "was racing me." Cutler described evenings making more folders for the classroom so the work would be ready before the kids needed it. "They pulled the best out of me," Cutler said, "And, I hope I pulled the best out of them."

Christian education has Cutler's heart because it gives her an opportunity to talk to her students about the gospel. During her public school tenure, Cutler said, she felt that her hands were tied on the most important subject of all.

Faith is also a source of wisdom and strength for Cutler when classroom times get tough. She expressed what many parents with fighting siblings have felt, saying, "You can't discern between one child and another." Prayer is important to her then. "Teaching phonics is easy," she adds, it's the interpersonal stuff that's more taxing.

Time has given Cutler other "classes" of sorts. She said, "As you get older, you are also mentoring the parents…you have a credibility that you don't have when you are young." Parents have changed, too, she said. How? Cutler laughs, "They are getting younger."

Trinity's Principal Doug Prol has taught with Cutler since Trinity opened its doors. He has seen her role expand as well. He said that Cutler is "a teacher of teachers now." She is the official mentor and supervisor for the K-3 department at Trinity.

Vision is key to Cutler's success, Prol added. "She looks at six and seven year old boys and thinks of them as 20 plus year old men," who eventually are going to have to lead a family and hold a job. With that vision in mind, Prol continued, “Tough love has been Sue's approach."

Cutler came to The King's College while the school was located at Briarcliff Manor. She was all of sixteen years old when she moved into the dorms. About her early start in higher education, Cutler said, "I don't recommend it," but she added, "God was kind. I got through it."

Cutler recalls Dr. Dorothy Braun, Head of the Christian Education Department, as a gifted woman who could win the hearts of her students. She remembers dorm life as fun, adding that fun times in the dorms were probably responsible for keeping her grades from being as high as they could have been. She pointed out that chivalry lived in the King's lights out policy. Guys got to stay out a bit later because, Cutler said, it was assumed that they would bring the girls home to their dorms.

Cutler is married to Kirk Cutler, and they have two adult daughters. The duo also has an antiques business. In her hours away from school, Cutler handles the tech side of their E-bay Internet sales.